A fourth loss in five games has brought Matt Patricia's job status into question.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported prior to the Lions' 41-25 Thanksgiving loss to the Texans that the fire under the head coach's feet would get hotter if Detroit was again unsuccessful in Week 12.
As the leader of a team that began the year 3-3 and has since dropped to 4-7, Patricia expectedly fielded a number of questions about his future following this latest defeat.
"My focus every day is on the guys in that locker room and working as hard as I can to help those guys be successful," Patricia said. "It's really not outside of that, I don't think outside of that, I don't worry outside of that other than just trying to do the best job I can every day to help everybody be successful and try to get our team going. Other than that, we play pretty short-term and focused on the task at hand."
When bluntly asked if he expects to be coaching the Lions when they take on the Bears in Week 13, Patricia reiterated that he's choosing to focus on the now and not what's coming down the pipeline.
"I focus one day at a time. That doesn't change," he said.
Coming into this season, Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn were given a clear objective: put Detroit in position to play meaningful games come December. As it stands, that possibility is rapidly starting to look out of reach.
They've been outscored 71-122 in November, a stretch that includes double-digit losses to the Colts and Vikings and a 20-0 shutout against the Panthers. They've been a bit short-handed and beat up but the effort still hasn't been there on either side of the ball.
The Lions' sluggish Week 12 performance looked even worse stacked next to a Texans team that has looked rejuvenated since making a head coaching change of their own. Perhaps a similar ousting could bring a much-needed jolt to Detroit.
